Western senior guard A.J. Slaughter is fouled by Troy guard Brandon Hazzard in the first half of Saturday's game. Western defeated the Trojans in their second meeting this season, 87-69. TANNER CURTIS/HERALD.
Western looks like an NCAA Tournament team some days. Other times, it plays like a mid-pack Sun Belt Conference team.
In their latest contest, the Toppers provided a reminder that they — not division-leading Troy — are the defending Sun Belt Champions.
Western (13-11, 6-6 Sun Belt) led from wire to wire in a 87-69 win over the Trojans Saturday night. Sparked by junior forward Steffphon Pettigrew’s 25 points and seven rebounds, the Toppers pulled away to lead by as many as 25 points, capping a 14-4 run with 13:11 to play in the second half.
Senior guard A.J. Slaughter said it all started on the defensive end.
“It took pressure off our offense,” Slaughter said. “Some shots really didn’t mean as much if, say, the game were close.”
It’s defense — for all 40 minutes — that Head Coach Ken McDonald has been looking for. And against Troy, he finally got it.
“All the hustle plays were there tonight,” McDonald said. “That just shows you you’re active defensively and you’re all over the place.
“I really think if you could make it hard for the other team to score, you’re in a position to have a lead — build a lead — and you have a lot more confidence on the offensive end because every possession isn’t so much pressure to score the basketball.”
Troy (13-11, 8-5 Sun Belt) fell in front of 6,531 fans at Diddle Arena, as Westen prevented a sweep by the visiting Trojans. The Toppers lost at Troy on Jan. 21.
Western broke out of the gate to a 7-0 lead and ran away to an 18-point first-half advantage, walking into the locker room up 43-28 at the break. Slaughter started the scoring in the second half with a quick layup, and the Toppers didn’t stop until the final buzzer.
Freshman guard Caden Dickerson scored a career-high 15 points, including a four-point play with 6:46 to play that pushed the lead to 16 points. Western hopped into a timeout after that, and junior forward Steffphon Pettigrew said it was then that the Toppers decided to put their foot down.
“We got into the huddle and we just told them, ‘don’t hold up, just keep going at it,’” Pettigrew said. “It was a big win. We needed it. Our confidence is going to build from here on out.”
Western shot 43.8 percent on field goals for the game — junior forward Sergio Kerusch’s first home contest back since he went down with a broken right foot on Dec. 18. Kerusch scored 15 points in 23 minutes, leaving the floor with an ovation at the 3:39 mark of the second half.
“For the second game back, I think (Kerusch) really showed improvement,” McDonald said. “He’s getting his timing back. He’s getting his wind back.”
Saturday’s game marked the first of four in just a week’s time — three of which are home games. The Toppers return to take on Houston at 7 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the regular season.
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